UPDATE 1-"Call of Duty" game sells $550 mln in 5 days
* Sales outpace "Grand Theft Auto IV"
* Shares up 5 cents to $11.74.
NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Activision Blizzard Inc(ATVI.O) said its video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2"scored record sales of $550 million in its first five days, butthe company is still concerned about weak consumer spending.
The game, a "first-person-shooter" that lets gamers portrayelite soldiers hunting down targets in locations ranging fromSouth America to Afghanistan, beat last year's blockbuster"Grand Theft Auto IV" from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc(TTWO.O) which sold more than $500 million in its first week.
Activision did not say how many units were sold in theperiod. Last week it said it sold 4.7 million copies for salesof $310 million on its first day in the U.S. and United Kingdomalone. (See FACTBOX [ID:nN10327116] )
Analysts' sales estimates for the $60 game range from 11million to 13 million units by the end of 2009. There is plentyat stake for Activision since "Call of Duty" is likely toaccount for a sizable chunk of the company's profits in thefourth quarter, analysts say.
Shares of the company, which have risen around 35 percentand outperformed chief rival Electronic Arts Inc's (ERTS.O) 11percent gain, rose 5 cents in early trade on Wednesday to$11.74.
Still, chief executive Bobby Kotick was mindful of the weakeconomy, which has stung the video game industry this year asconsumers think twice about buying game machines and software.
"Despite the success of 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2',Activision Blizzard remains cautious about the U.S. and globaleconomy as well as other variables that can affect industryfundamentals and our own performance, including consumerspending which remains a significant concern," he said in astatement.
Price cuts from home console makers Nintendo Co (7974.OS),Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Sony Corp (6758.T) had beenexpected to help boost software sales since September, but haveso far proven to have little affect on game sales.[ID:nN28312449]
Sales of video game equipment and software in the UnitedStates tumbled 19 percent in October to $1.07 billion,according to research group NPD. [ID:nN12407998] (Reporting by Franklin Paul; Editing by Derek Caney)
Source: Reuters
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